Family’s heartbreak after 19-year-old son dies from cancer

A teenager has died from a rare form of cancer just three weeks after going to doctors for advice regarding back pain. Carl Scott, 19, from North Shields, discovered a lump on his back which was causing him discomfort, and tests later showed he was suffering from a rare and aggressive cancer called sarcoma. The cancer spread across his body, leaving him just three weeks to live following his diagnosis. He died on September 4, 2022. Carl’s mother, Claire Abraham, has said that the last month has been a “daze” and “very hard”.

Speaking to Chronicle Live, she said: “Carl went into hospital for back problems so to be told that he had cancer was a big shock. He was really upset, he didn’t have time to process it really. It was breaking his heart.

“Everything happened so fast and I didn’t have time to register anything. It’s still feels like a daze, it doesn’t seem real. The last few months have been really hard.

“He was quite a character, he used to have you laughing all the time. He was also loving and caring. He was an outdoor kid. He always wanted to be out and about with his friends. He was always outdoors playing with his best friend Dean.”

Claire explained how Carl started to look thin after finding the lump on his back.

He went to his local doctors’ surgery and then went to Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital last year.

He was then transferred to Freeman Hospital in Newcastle for more tests.

Carl and his family were initially told Carl could have testicular cancer, but eventually, a specialist was required to diagnose the rare form of sarcoma he was suffering from.

Claire’s partner, Angela, added: “Everything was such a blur and we didn’t have time to take much in.

“I have never ever heard of sarcoma before. I came home and Googled it and realised how bad it was. Claire was absolutely devastated.”

Carl’s family and friends have been left hearbroken. The 19-year-old had planned to study bricklaying at Tyne Metropolitan College in Wallsend before his health deteriorated.

His mother Claire continued: “He had quite a few friends going to the hospital and the nurses at the Freeman were amazing.

“I wanted to be there with him so I slept at the hospital. I held his hand and he passed away.

“It’s been really hard without him. Christmas was the hardest because Carl normally stopped at my house on Christmas Eve.

“His best friend would usually come around on Christmas morning and I would get a picture of them. Carter always talks about Carl and says ‘He’s in the sky’ and ‘Carl’s in heaven’.”

Just hours before Carl passed away, a local musician came to visit him.

Shakeil Luciano, known as Schak, was told about Carl by one of his friends and sent him a voice message before visiting him in person.

Schak said: “I’ll never forget the day I met this amazing young man. It was so difficult to see Carl, who was only 19, so sick. His family told me that within three weeks he went from a normal person to his current state.

“As he was a fan of Nanna Makina I got changed and put my outfit on and I stood beside Carl’s bed.

“Carl could barely talk but he managed to muster the strength up to ask his mother Claire if we could get a photograph together. After we posed for the photo I held his hand for a little while before shortly saying goodbye to him.

“I was informed by his family that he passed a few hours after I left. It’s so tragic to see such a young man’s life come to an end when it was only just beginning. He will forever live in my heart, rest well son.”

Locals have since raised £5,000 for Carl’s family and his funeral. He was cremated after a service in North Shields last September.

Soft tissue sarcomas can develop almost anywhere on the body. They often don’t have obvious symptoms in the early stages.

The NHS says that anyone who finds a lump, especially if gets bigger, should go and see their GP.